Butter wouldn’t melt!!! Here they are lying next to me.
Chico and Sheba are an unusual mix of Staffie and Corgi. The one-year-old brother and sister are very friendly, gentle dogs. Absolutely wonderful……and…..at times…..MANIC!
Constant rough play
When I arrived it was bedlam with their constant rough play. The sofa and house is slowly being demolished by them. Their two young gentlemen owners have now laid their third stair carpet, and the re-turfed lawn is now wasteland again.
The trouble started when they took on Sheba a few months after Chico. More than Double Trouble!
Chico
It is so clear that the dogs reflect each individual owner that it would be laughable if not so exasperating. The two men work at different times, so the dogs spend quite a lot of time with just one or other.
With one man they are settled and there are no problems at all.
With the other they never stop! They wreck things even while he’s in the house. They play fight constantly. They fly all over the place. Whilst also getting very cross he encourages them with the sort of games he plays – it’s like he’s one of the dogs!
The other young man, however, is quite clear in what is acceptable and what is not. He hardly has to try. It just comes naturally to him.
Some boundaries!
When both men are out, the door to the garden may be left open and the dogs rampage in and out, doing damage. They are perfectly happy crated, so that is how it will be from now on!
Like many couples I go to, it’s difficult when the people do things differently. It can cause conflict between them and confusion for the dogs. Hopefully, now that I have been and we have agreed a plan, they will read from the same page so to speak. These lovely dogs should calm right down, stop damaging the house, cut down on the rough play, be given mental stimulation and learn some self-control.
The only way they will become good doggy citizens is if their humans change. One young man has a bit more adjusting to do than the other, but I know he’s up to it. Being too soft isn’t actually kind and in this case leads to two aroused dogs looking frantically for things on which to redirect their pent up stress – like rough play. They both adore the dogs – and who could help it? They are wonderful.
